Friends
by Meme-Ann
Summary: All Adam ever wanted was real friends. This is what he was thinking threw MD2 about the team and their friendship.


I remember that day pretty clearly. I woke au around 8:30 like I always do and stared at the trophy sitting on my dresser for about a ½ hour. I didn't feel like getting out of bed, I really didn't see a reason to I had no friends to spend time with. My mom forbade me to hang around with Larson and McGill since that goal post incident. I hadn't seen or heard from any of the Ducks since the day we saw coach Bombay off. But what was I expecting them to suddenly like me? No I knew better, my only friend was hockey. I rolled off my bed and found some clothes. Funny how I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning but I remember that day I put on a big yellow polo shirt and white shorts. I strapped on my roller blade and proceeded to play hockey again a plywood goalie. How pathetic was that? And to top it off I was giving a play by play to a nonexistent audience.  
  
"Hey Cake-eater you wanna play some real hockey?" Was I hearing that right, had Jesse Hall just asked me to play with them? I didn't know when, where or against who but I knew my answer.  
"Yeah."  
  
We were skating away from my house when I got the details. The Junior Goodwill Games. An international competition, it was us verses the world. I guess the first time I realized that the Ducks were a great group of kids and awesome friends was when Fulton tied the Hawks to that tree in the park. That was the thing with them… us, you mess with one be ready to take on the flock. After everyone was rounded up we headed to over to meet our coach. Thank god it was Bombay I couldn't take another Reilly.  
  
When I got home and told my parents the news the reaction was what I had planned on. My father thought this was a great opportunity for me to be scouted. I was only twelve at the time, but I didn't argue. My mother on the other hand thought this was a way for me to get killed. She never worried before the peewee championship, then I guess seeing your youngest child knocked unconscious by his best friend will do that to you. When I told her I was going to have to stay in California a few weeks. I thought we'd have to scrape her off the ceiling. However if I left her there there'd have been no opposition to my leaving . She was out number 2-1 anyway, Mrs. Banks's little boy was going.  
  
The team was standing around the rink in our Ducks uniforms when Don Tibbles ( who if you ask me was a white Urkle in a suit) introduced us to the rest of the team. Julie Gaffney was pretty cute I recall thinking. Bu that was only after panicking over Dwayne Robertson from Austin Texas. While everyone was laughing at him I was worrying. He really was a great puck handler, far better then me. Which was definitely not what I needed to deal with, my skills was what got the Ducks to respect me. Hey what was I worried about? I was Adam Banks, the best player on the best team in the league. So why didn't that make me feel any better?  
  
To say I had butterflies in my stomach before our first game would be the understatement of the century. I think they may have been 747s. Once I got out on that ice everything was different, I wasn't scare, nervous or worried, I was the man. When I scored the team cheered and patted me on the back, if we won they hugged me. So that's what is was I had friends as long as I had hockey. As long as I was a Duck I'd have pals. That almost ended when we played that first game against Iceland. When that stick came down on my wrist my whole career flashed in front of my eyes. The pain shot up my arm like a rocket, but I was going to finish the game, I had to play. My wrist was a pretty awkward shade of purple the next morning. I managed to wrap it up before anyone realized it was hurt, I couldn't tell the team they'd tell Bombay and he would've sent me home. I'd lose my only connection to the only friends I had. Three days later Portman being the ever gentlemen called Julie babe. That went up my butt sideways. Let me tell you when I shoved him back after he pushed me for sticking up for her, I think I hurt myself more then him. At that game against Russ's crew I scored 2 goals instead of m usual 4 or 5. They weren't even real players, the pain was that bad. I felt like I let the Ducks down so much.  
  
When the coach discovered I was playing injured and said he had to bench me, my world felt like it was crumbling. I gave him some song and dance about my dad and scouts. I wasn't a stupid kid I knew I'd have plenty more chances, nevertheless I couldn't tell him I was scared the team wouldn't like me anymore if I wasn't their leading scorer. So the starting center became a bench warmer. I guess the thing that really proved to me that the Ducks really cared about me though was the welcome I got when I walked into the locker room prier to the second Iceland game. They didn't yet know I woke up without pain, they just seemed happy to see me there. Then Charlie gave up his spot for me and I had to fight back tears. He did it for the team because Ducks do whatever they can for each other. I can't recall ever being more proud to be a member of any group then I was at that moment. I had some doubt though, Oalf Sanderson was the one that broke my wrist to begin with. But I couldn't let them down. When we won that game we all gathered in a group hug like no other. My friends, I had friends. When we left coach Bombay and Ms Mckay took us on the camping trip. We sat around the fire together singing "We are the champions". Jesse was on one side of me and Luis on the other. And for the first time in my life I didn't feel like I had to do anything to get people to like me but be me. 


End file.
